“We don’t accomplish anything in this world alone… and whatever happens is the result of the whole tapestry of one’s life and all the weavings of individual threads from one to another that creates something”.

Sandra Day O’Connor

Supreme Court Justice (Retired)

Greetings to my fellow Rotarian friends!

I love these words of Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman appointed to the Supreme Court of the United States and Medal of Freedom award recipient. Her quote speaks to the importance of connections between human beings and how most great things in life are created not by a single individual, but by the power of groups of individuals, each linked together by these amazing, connecting threads.

In this time of distancing, interaction between friends and co-workers is constrained. This runs counter to both our basic human need to interact together and the Rotary goals of “Service Above Self.” The leadership of the Canton Rotary Club is working to make those connections possible, while protecting the health of our members. Here is what is happening.

Rotary “Meet-ups” Continue. All of you should have received an email invitation from Past President Michelle Charles (fna Mullaly) to attend weekly “meet-ups” with your Rotary friends via Zoom. Our third virtual get-together will be held this Friday, April 24th at 11:30am. It provides you a way to catch-up with folks in an informal setting. Just click on the link in Michelle’s email invitation and join in. This will allow you to practice for our first…

Full Membership Meeting May 1st. Plans are in place for our first full Rotary meeting on Friday May 1st, 2020! Each of you (with email addresses) will receive an invitation to attend this important first virtual meeting. So free up your schedule for that date and plan to attend. We will open the site at 11:30 to allow you to log-on, get comfortable, and chat. The formal meeting will begin at 12 noon and I expect it to adjourn by 12:30pm. I will present an update on the club and plans for the future. For best results, you should attend by using a computer with a video and audio connection. You can also call-in using your phone to hear what is happening. SEE YOU THERE!

Helping the Community in this Time of Need. Our club has received a number of requests from the community to provide help to those in need. To address these needs, we have asked our Endowment Committee, under the leadership of Curt Werren, to determine what we will do to help. This team of Rotarians can bring their expertise to evaluate options and plan a course of action. We hope to have more information on our plans at our first member meeting May 1st.

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I encourage all of you to stay connected with your club during this time of change and I pledge to help keep our club engaged and vital during these difficult times.

Please join your fellow Canton Rotarians on Friday May 1st via Zoom for our first 'videoconferencing' Friday meeting! President Mark will give an update on the status of our club, share some ideas, and ask for input from our club members. This will be a very informative meeting....AND you will get a chance to 'socialize' (remotely, of course) with your fellow club members. We certainly encourage you to 'attend'.

More info on how to use Zoom, how to log into this meeting, and other details will be coming soon. Stay healthy everyone!

(PS - if you want to practice using Zoom, join us for a video 'meet-up' this Friday at 11:30 AM. Details are in the article below.)

Please join us this Friday, April 24, 2020 at 11:30 AM for our weekly Zoom Rotary social video meeting.

This is a great way to keep in touch with your fellow Rotarians during this time of social distancing. And you can practice using Zoom for our larger Club video conference 'meeting' on May 1st.

PP Michelle Mullaly Charles has sent an invitation to your email with the log in information to this meeting, and it is also shown below in this article.

Should you have any questions on this meeting, don't hesitate to contact the office.

Instructions:

Download the Zoom Video Conferencing app onto your smart phone, tablet, laptop, or desktop computer. NOTE: you should choose a device that has both a camera for video and a microphone for audio. There is no cost for the Zoom app.

With the increased demand for emergency food we are moving our pantry operations outside and using the drive thru pantry model. This will allow us to get more food out to more people. In order to do this we need more volunteers, twice as many in fact. Help meet this critical need during these trying times by signing up for a shift or two, or three! We will be operating our pantry Monday-Friday. Share this email and link with friends to help spread the word!

Help us stay in touch with each other by sharing your photos, happy bucks and stories of what you have been doing during this time of social distancing. Please forward any pictures, cartoons, happy bucks or stories into the office at: info@cantonrotary.org and we will post these items in our weekly Rotogram and our website.

In the midst of a global pandemic, we understand that attention to polio eradication will be temporarily diverted, and this makes it all the more vital for Rotarians to remain strongly committed to fighting polio and not let our progress be eroded.

In every corner of the world, it seems that not a single person or community is unaffected by COVID-19. You may be wondering how to stay focused on our work eradicating polio when we are dealing with a pandemic caused by a virus for which there is not yet a vaccine — a situation similar to what the world faced with the poliovirus not so long ago.

The COVID-19 pandemic response requires worldwide solidarity and an urgent global effort. The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), with thousands of polio workers and an extensive laboratory and surveillance network, has a moral imperative to ensure that these resources are used to support countries in their preparedness and response.

We can be proud that in the ever-connected world of global health, the polio infrastructure that Rotarians have helped build is already being used to address — and stop the spread of — the new coronavirus, in addition to serving countless other health needs. In Nigeria, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, where polio personnel and assets have a significant presence, workers from all GPEI partners are engaged in surveillance, health worker training, contact tracing, and more. In 13 countries, polio volunteers have been deployed to address COVID-19 preparations and response.

We recognize that the COVID-19 emergency means that some aspects of the polio eradication program will be affected. While addressing the new challenges of today, the most important thing that Rotary members can do to continue the fight to end polio is to sustain our commitment. We are aiming to reach our fundraising goal of $50 million this year so we can work to safely reach all children with the polio vaccine. In the midst of a global pandemic, we understand that attention to polio eradication will be temporarily diverted, and this makes it all the more vital for Rotarians to remain strongly committed to fighting polio and not let our progress be eroded.

It is imperative that we remain committed to our work eradicating polio. Learn more about how our work fighting polio is supporting the COVID-19 response and consider making a contribution to PolioPlus.